The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Seattle Times, Chicago Tribune and other dailies are trying to figure out ways to develop a sustainable revenue model in the age of Craigslist and other free advertising sources. Meantime, falling revenue has resulted in layoffs and diminished coverage. Recently, The Seattle Times' art critic Sheila Farr accepted the paper's buyout offer, leaving one of that city's official news gathering sources without a staff art critic.

Then, on Friday, the Hearst Corporation, owners of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, announced it needed to sell the paper within 60 days or stop printing. That means the paper will close or turn into an Internet-only site with a severely reduced staff. If that paper's staff art critic, Regina Hackett, becomes a casualty, it would be another crushing blow to arts coverage in Seattle.

The P-I has been operating at a loss every year since 2000, and its weekday circulation is 118,000. The Seattle Times' weekday circulation is roughly 200,000. The two papers publish a combined Sunday edition whose circulation is about 380,000.

By comparison, The Oregonian's weekday circulation is roughly 284,000; it's Sunday circulation hovers at around 345,000.

Who knows what will happen in these nutty times. But good luck to everyone at the P-I and warm vibes to Regina.